Browsing by Author "Byamugisha, Robert"

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    Dramatic and sustained increase in HIV-testing rates among antenatal attendees in Eastern Uganda after a policy change from voluntary counselling and testing to routine counselling and testing for HIV: a retrospective analysis of hospital records, 2002-2009
    (BMC health services research, 2010) Byamugisha, Robert; Tylleskär, Thorkild; Kagawa, Mike N.; Onyango, Saul; Karamagi, Charles A. S.; Tumwine, James K.
    The burden of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Uganda is high. The aim of this paper is to describe the experience of the first 7 years of the prevention of mother- to- child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme in Mbale Regional Hospital, Eastern Uganda, with particular reference to the lessons learnt in changing from voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) to routine counselling and testing (RCT) for HIV testing in antenatal services. Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of the PMTCT records of Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda, from May 2002 to April 2009. The data on HIV testing of pregnant women and their male partners was extracted from the reports and registers using a standardized data extraction form, and data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences; Uganda National Council of Science and Technology, and Mbale Hospital. Results: A total of 54 429 new antenatal (ANC) attendees and 469 male-partners accessed antenatal services at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital. There was a sustained, significant increase in HIV testing among new ANC attendees from 22% during the VCT period to 88% during the RCT period (p = 0.002), while among male partners, HIV testing increased from 88% to 100% (p = 0.010) However, the overall number of male partners who tested for HIV remained very low despite the change from VCT to RCT approach in HIV testing. Conclusions: Routine offer of antenatal HIV testing dramatically increased HIV testing in pregnant women and their partners in Uganda. Our findings call for further strengthening of the policy for routine HIV testing in antenatal clinics. Our study also showed that male partner HIV testing in antenatal clinics is low and this area needs further work through research and innovative interventions in order to improve male partner involvement.
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    ‘‘Telling my husband I have HIV is too heavy to come out of my mouth’’: pregnant women’s disclosure experiences and support needs following antenatal HIV testing in eastern Uganda
    (Journal of the International AIDS Society, 2012) Rujumba, Joseph; Neema, Stella; Byamugisha, Robert; Tylleska¨r, Thorkild; Tumwine, James K.; Heggenhougen, Harald K.
    Disclosure of HIV serostatus by women to their sexual partners is critical for the success of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme as an integrated service in antenatal care. We explored pregnant HIV-positive and HIV-negative women’s partner disclosure experiences and support needs in eastern Uganda. Methods: This was a qualitative study conducted at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in eastern Uganda between January and May 2010. Data collection was through in-depth interviews with 15 HIV-positive and 15 HIV-negative pregnant women attending a follow up antenatal clinic (ANC) at Mbale Hospital, and six key informant interviews with health workers at the clinic. Data management was done using NVivo version 9, and a content thematic approach was used for analysis. Results: All HIV-negative women had disclosed their HIV status to their sexual partners but expressed need for support to convince their partners to also undergo HIV testing.Women reported that their partners often assumed that they were equally HIV-negative and generally perceived HIV testing in the ANC as a preserve for women. Most of the HIV-positive women had not disclosed their HIV status to sexual partners for fear of abandonment, violence and accusation of bringing HIV infection into the family. Most HIV-positive women deferred disclosure and requested health workers’ support in disclosure. Those who disclosed their positive status generally experienced positive responses from their partners. Conclusions: Within the context of routine HIV testing as part of the PMTCT programme, most women who test HIV-positive find disclosure of their status to partners extremely difficult. Their fear of disclosure was influenced by the intersection of gender norms, economic dependency, women’s roles as mothers and young age. Pregnant HIV-negative women and their unborn babies remained at risk of HIV infection owing to the resistance of their partners to go for HIV testing. These findings depict a glaring need to strengthen support for both HIV-positive and HIV-negative women to maximize opportunities for HIV prevention.